Kamen Rider Tyrant
by Megazord Master
Summary: Xonix has been destroyed and the Ultra Rangers have retired...but evil always emerges from the shadows
1. Rider Rising Part One

A/N: This is set in an offshoot of my Ultra Crystals universe where the Ultra Rangers destroyed Xonix at the end of "The Ultra Crystals". Kamen Rider isn't mine. Neither is the Power Rangers. Everything you don't recognize? Mine.

Kamen Rider Tyrant

Rider Rising – Part 1

Weihan didn't know what was going on. He had been called into the Director's office – but so far, she hadn't shown up. He knew that he was on thin ice where his work was concerned, but he didn't care much. He would gladly take an impossible task that had him forgo sleep if it meant the dreams would stop. No one except a small group of close friends knew of the dreams he was having. They weren't the regular ones involving him and a few female co-workers, but incredibly dark dreams. Dreams involving death, fire, fear and hideous monsters destroying all in their path. Images that hadn't graced his sleep for ten years – since the destruction of Xonix.

As he sat in the Director's room, his right hand automatically came up to touch the crystal shard he had around his neck. That was the only remnant of the Ultra crystal that had turned him into one of the most powerful Rangers in the Universe. There was no great evil threatening the planet; and what did pop up was defeated by whatever Power Ranger team was soon created. He had settled down considerably after Xonix was destroyed and let himself enjoy school slightly more. The further years of learning and education had been interesting; but he kept wondering what could have been. Of course, various teams fighting in particularly tough battles had called him back. The first such battle was against a swarm of Mesogog clones in Reefside. He had discovered that he could easily summon his Ninjetti spirit, robes and even his Crocodile Ninjazord. He had tried to summon his Dinozord and Thunderzord – he couldn't, but he felt the spirit of the Utahraptor within.

It was only by sheer luck that he had landed a job in a group of colleges in the heart of the CBD. Well, not really by luck; maybe coincidence was a better word. He had been drawn to the building for some time. It was a feeling of something calling to the spirit within. When the offer came up, he jumped at the chance. The first few weeks had been tough. The workload was harsh and demanding, but he persevered like any Ranger would. Of course, he slacked off sometimes; but he always did what he was told with utmost importance. He had noticed something rather odd though. The lights overhead kept flickering at the same time every day and there was the smell of ozone the day after. He had asked one of his colleagues – an attractive young Nepalese woman called Serena – what was happening, but she had smiled at him and told him not to worry about it. He had dropped the subject, but it kept nagging at him. His chats with he Director had been strange as well, the young Spanish woman kept looking at him very intently. He pushed everything to the back of his mind as he heard footsteps outside.

The handle turned and the door opened, revealing the Director of Australasia Worldwide – Gabriela Delgado. He stood up and stood quietly as she entered the room carrying a thick manila folder. Weihan swallowed quietly. If she was going to fire him, it would be on his terms and not hers. As he sat down, he noticed the name on the folder: Project KRR. Whatever those letters stood for, it was a complete mystery to him. One possibility for the "KR" part could be "Kamen Rider", but Kamen Rider was just a TV show…right? Once again, the words of Zordon echoed in his head,

"Nothing is impossible with aid of the Power"

So maybe it wasn't too much of a stretch to say that Australasia Worldwide was going to produce the next Kamen Rider show. Or they had created a Rider System of their own. Either way, he would find out soon. He waited patiently as the Director gathered her thoughts before speaking.

"Weihan, there is a reason I have asked you to see me today. For once, it is not about your work."

Weihan smiled lightly and nodded once, prompting her to continue. Gabriela set the manila folder down and opened it. Inside the thick folder were CG images, graphs and a great deal of official looking text. It also had pictures of ghostlike figures, reflections and – worryingly – pictures of the last battle with Xonix. Thankfully the pictures didn't show any faces, just the last moments of the battle and a full body shot of him in full morph. Weihan gazed at that image longingly; while the Ninjetti robes were sweet, they didn't offer much in the way of protection. Gaby took in a deep breath and continued.

"This is the real reason that Australasia Worldwide exists. The colleges are just a front and a way for us to bring in funding. We put 100% into the colleges and another 100% in this project. Here, come with me. You have to see it to believe it."

She stood up, closed the manila folder and stepped out into the hallway. Weihan followed, genuinely interested in what she was about to show him. What did it have to do with him and what were those pictures about? They walked down a hall with a squeaky floor and came to a heavily armed fire door. Gaby placed her palm on the door and a strange light shone on it. A few seconds later, the door unlocked with a dull thunk and swung open – revealing a stone passageway dimly lit with flickering torches. As they crossed the threshold, Gaby spoke again; her voice echoing off the walls.

"Weihan, are you aware of the Legend of Bloody Mary?"

"Some woman in a mirror kills you if you say her name three to five times. Method of killing varies from throat ripping to gouging out your eyes. Why do you ask that?"

Gaby sighed and shifted the folder to her other arm.

"Legends like that have been circulating the globe for centuries. Stories of goatmen, yeti and other creatures of myth. Human beings have long dismissed all these as massive hoaxes, folklore and easily explained phenomena. In doing so, we have become complacent and placid. Easy targets."

"Easy targets for what?"

Weihan was getting nervous now. He knew that there were creatures out there that defied all imagination. Werewolves, Chupacabras and all other things that went bump in the night were reality. He had seen glimpses of it in that hellish future he had visited. What did Australasia Worldwide know about any of that and what would it do? Up ahead, he could see another door – this time guarded by what looked like marines with great big guns. Whatever was going on behind the scenes, it was extremely confidential. As they reached the door, Gaby spoke to him again.

"Targets for Bloodless Mary – Queen of the Wraiths. She is the origin of the Bloody Mary mythos but she is far deadlier."

The guards snapped to attention and pointed their guns at Weihan. He blinked, semi-surprised. He knew that if they fired on him, he could morph into his Ninjetti robes before the bullet left the chamber – but the material wouldn't last long. That and it would blow the cover he had carefully cultivated after the Final Battle. Though if he was going to be fired upon, that persona would be shredded in a hurry…horrific pun not intended. As Gaby told the guards to relax and open the door, he ran that name over in his head. He had heard of Bloodless Mary before, but he couldn't remember where or when. If he got out of this meeting alive, he would run it through his contacts. Maybe someone on the Eltarean High Council had heard of that name. Then there was the other name she mentioned – Wraiths. He didn't know if they were the kind of ghost or something else entirely. Something snapped him out of his musings and he looked up to see that the heavy-looking door had opened. There was the darkness again. He wondered if lighting was just reserved for the college. He stepped through the door first and waited for Gaby to come.

The door slowly swung shut, leaving the former Ranger in total darkness. All around him, he could hear heavy footsteps. He didn't know what was in the darkness, but he knew he had to fight if he wanted to get out. That sounded so horribly clichéd in his mind, but it was the truth. Then again, if she wanted to assess his combat abilities, she would be in for a shock. All fear and aggression left his body as he took in a deep breath, calling on his Crocodile spirit to aid him. As his senses gradually became sharper, he could easily sense the presence of four figures – two in front of him, one behind and one slowly approaching from his right. He grinned to himself and spoke to whoever was in the darkness.

"All right. I know you're out there, being all cautious and whatnot. Let's just disregard all that and you guys rush me. Um…let's start with the guy creeping towards me like a secret agent. Hit me with your best shot."

His words had some affect, because the slowly approaching figure started running at him. He took a step back and smiled as he felt something run past him. He struck out with his right arm and felt it impact against cloth – along with a grunt of pain. Not letting up, he opened his fist, grabbed onto the cloth and pulled it toward him. His left hand chopped down at his assailant's back, bringing down his opponent almost soundlessly. As he released what he hoped was an unconscious attacker, his senses alerted him to a thin rod or blade coming toward him at neck height. Dropping down, he heard the whistle of a blade through the air before rolling back and executing a low roundhouse sweep. His leg connected with something sturdy, but had enough momentum to knock whoever it was on his or her ass. Two down with minimal effort. The third one was lurking close, but Weihan wanted to do something different. He knew he was being tested for something – but he wasn't playing around.

He closed his eyes and called upon his Ninjetti spirit, feeling the subtle shift of air around him as the Power flowed forth. Opening his eyes, he saw the room clearly – temporary night-vision from one of his powers still somewhere inside him. The two assailants were security guards dressed in some sort of armoured cloth – both looked to be knocked cold. Weihan saw the last guard rushing at him with his arms extended. Not even thinking, the former ranger waited until the guard was close, grabbed his outstretched arms, fell down and threw him into the opposite wall. As he saw the guard slump bonelessly to the ground, his night-vision faded as he relinquished hold of his Crocodile spirit.

Observation Room

Gabriela Delgado's jaw hung open in shock as she saw her newest employee defeat the guards with a minimum of moves. She had never thought that the thin man could disable the top tier security guards – not ever. Checking her watch, her jaw fell open wider – he had defeated them in just under three minutes! She shook her head and opened the folder in her arms. The project was ready for a tester – but the testers didn't have what it took to handle the power of the System. Everyone that had tested the System before hadn't lasted more than five seconds before the power left them. To actually have a candidate that could easily handle to Rider System was unprecedented. It meant they would have an advantage over the Wraiths when they made their first move. It also meant she would be able to collect the necessary data for the other three Systems. She suppressed a smile and opened the door of the Training Room. She had a feeling that Weihan would have a lot of questions to ask.

Training Room

Weihan heard the door opening a split second before the lights flared to life overhead. He squinted in the glare – thankful that his night vision had faded. He was irritated at the impromptu training session and was also curious about why it was done. He was grateful for it though – he hadn't had a decent fight in ages…though he wouldn't call three inept guards a "decent fight". As he blinked his eyes to adjust, Gaby's voice from behind him pulled him out of his pseudo-daze.

"Impressive, very impressive. I admit, I had my doubts about you. Come with me."

Weihan moved after Gaby, mind racing. Exiting the room, he found himself in a room covered with electronics; everything from computers to TVs and strange devices he didn't recognize. Roughly in the middle was a raised platform that was surrounded with glass. As Weihan drank in his surroundings, he was aware of people around him. Familiar faces from the office – Bin, Bib, Canan and Serena. All looking at him in amazement. Suddenly, one of the screens flicked on and he focused on it. The images showed a flickering mirror. As he looked at the image, an arm burst out of the mirror before withdrawing. Weihan shivered, recalling something Adam had told him when he helped the Overdrive Rangers

"_Those Fearcats, apparently they came out of a mirror or something. Only three made it out, but behind that mirror were hundreds of them. The mirror was destroyed and that sealed off the only method of entry"_

So, if these Fearcats had their mirror shattered, what was trying to break free? As if hearing his unasked question, Gaby spoke up.

"Mirrors are a one way exit for the Wraiths – creatures that threaten to destroy the world. They are led by the husk of Bloodless Mary. Once, she was feared throughout the world for her cruelty and iron-fisted rule as well as her command of the Wraiths. She was only defeated by a powerful warlock…or something. That's what the legends say anyway but it was probably an army."

Weihan silently filed that information away into the back of his mind. The only warlock of legend he knew of had been the one that sealed away Diabolico and his followers. It could be the same one, but he couldn't be sure until he had more information. He decided to ask in a subtle way.

"OK…so how did this warlock defeat her? Did he seal her away in some tomb or something?"

"No. He sacrificed his life by putting all the blood in her body into seven containers and scattered them around the globe. Bear in mind that this was quite a while ago and while the continents might have shifted, the containers didn't."

Weihan groaned. It was turning out to be another potential Ranger hunt again…except this time it would probably just be him against whatever these Wraiths were. Taking his eyes off the screen, he looked around the room yet again; this time noticing the glass around the platform. Thick glass too and it looked like it was designed to contain energy…poorly. Countless hours fixing Zords had given him a technical knowledge that rivaled Billy or Justin, but he didn't want to point anything out to them. After all, if he was brought here for a reason, he'd have to go into the tube at one point or another. He just hoped no one was hurt when the tube shattered. He paused in his musings, his brain replaying what had last been heard. Something didn't add up.

"So where are the containers now? Is this an international trek?"

"No. There is no global trek for you to go on. Even if there was – we would still need you in the office. All seven of Bloodless Mary's containers are here – within the walls of Australasia Worldwide."

Weihan wanted to punch her. He exhaled sharply and shook his head in dismay. He wondered if painting a huge target on the building would have more of an effect. He took a deep breath, preparing to go on a rant – when he was interrupted by Gaby again.

"I know it seems like something an idiot would do, but if the containers are here then we can defend them easily. The Wraiths are vulnerable to high impact hits and to extreme heat – at least that's what the stories say. We have also created our own Ranger System."

Weihan didn't care if he was blowing his cover – he just had to say it. He began circling the platform as he started talking.

"No Gaby, you haven't created your own Ranger. For one thing, Ranger Powers and suits take massive amounts of power to both generate and run. That doesn't take into account the energy that will have to be generated to create laser blasts or ensure the Ranger armour doesn't fizzle out mid-battle. How would you monitor the micro shield of the suit? The weapon output and possible damaging feedback loops? Using all this equipment? You have a good setup here, but you have nothing in the way of the tech needed to monitor – let alone create – a Power Ranger.

"What about the Zord for the Ranger? Have you got one stored away somewhere? Would it stand up to the rigours of high intensity combat? How would you power this Zord? If you ran it directly from Sydney's power supply, the whole city would be blacked out in a matter of seconds. Anything more and the Zord wouldn't move as fast or hit as hard – and in a battle that means the difference between life and death. Then there's this question – would the Ranger be limited to only one Zord? If yes then the Zord would have to be constantly upgraded to ensure the Ranger has the advantage in battle. If no then the Ranger would have to be creative with the weapons he or she has.

"To be honest, if you made me fight three grunts to make me into a Ranger, then – I'm sorry – you're deluded. There in nothing in this room that makes me believe that you can create a Power Ranger from scratch. It would be more believable if you told me that you had created a Kamen Rider System to use."

Total silence met his rant and he feared he had gone too far; that he had torn away his cover. Any second now, the barrage of questions would come. He supposed he could say that he had worked at Lightspeed over in Mariner Bay but even that wouldn't be cover if Gaby decided to call them. Of course, he had been asked by Captain Mitchell – but he had still been on semi-active duty. He supposed he had helped as a long-distance consultant, but that wouldn't be the same as hands-on help. To his surprise, none of the faces around him showed any form of shock or surprise – only humour. Gaby walked over to him and gave him the folder, smiling slightly.

"Well, I am happy to report that we are not deluded or delusional. We haven't created a Ranger to fight for us. To do that would be insane – based on the reasons you have stated and the only Ranger capable of destroying the Wraiths would be the Orange Ultra Ranger. Unfortunately, he hasn't been seen in public since late 2004 – and that was only in Reefside."

Weihan breathed a sigh of relief as he took the folder. He had gone to Reefside to help against a swarm of Mesogog clones. Tommy had been able to call on his Red Battlezord again for a final fight and shortly after that, the Dino Gems had been drained. He knew there had been pictures taken of him in his Ninjetti armour and Zord judging from the headlines the next day – both on newspapers and on the Internet. He mulled over her words for a second. She said they hadn't created a Ranger; so what was all this for? He asked her and her reply didn't really shock him that much.

"We have created a Kamen Rider"

TBC


	2. Rider Rising Part Two

Chapter Two: Rider Rising – Part 2

Weihan rolled his eyes and looked at the people around him. They looked serious and judging by the "test" he had been subjected to; everything was real. Then again, what was stranger – a maniacal alien warlord attacking from the skies above or monsters coming out of mirrors to attack? To him, it all seemed like a joke; some strange mashup of Ryuki and Kiva with him as the hero of the hour. He was pretty sure that the Wraiths couldn't stand up to the raw power of his Ninjetti suit, but he wanted to make sure he only used that as a last resort. Plus, if he was the only person that could use the Rider System, he wanted to make sure they had good reason to create it. He noticed Gaby was offering him the folder she had with her. He warily took it and steeled himself.

Weihan opened the folder and took a closer look at the images inside. Now he could see the designs more clearly. It was obvious that Gaby had ripped off the Rider suit from Kamen Rider Black – complete with antennae. The only difference was the belt device. It looked similar to the old Morphers only without the seam and side activation button. He was starting to get worried. If he were to wear this "creation" in public, the Wraiths would kill themselves. Laughing. Plus, the suit didn't have any semblance of style or intimidation to it…it was one giant mess. He swallowed back his sarcastic scorn and looked up at the beaming face of Gaby. He tried to put a note of determination into his voice.

"All right. Let's do this."

Although it sounded like he had gas. He supposed it sounded better than nothing, but God he was skeptical of this. Fighting mirror monsters with something designed from a TV show. It was all kinds of crazy at once, but he didn't really have a choice. As much as he disliked the thought of using terrestrial technology, the thought of having an actual Power system running through his body was too much of a temptation to pass up. Besides, if Carter and the rest had been able to morph with Earth-based morphers, there shouldn't be too much of a difference. As Gaby began to walk off to one of the consoles, he looked around the room once more – seeing the text that was on the screens around him. Energy levels, Power capacitors, Bypass monitors and more. It looked like a warped version of the Command Centre; but with more of a clinical feel. He looked at the tube in the centre of the room and was mildly surprised when Gaby asked him to step inside it.

Before stepping into the chamber, he was stopped by Serena who held out two objects to him. The first was the same blocky "morpher" that he had seen on the suit designs. It had a shallow depression in the middle of it as well as what looked like a small microphone speaker. The second object was a roughly spherical object that was solid black in colour. It was the same size as the depression, but it wasn't likely to go into the hole easily…and not without some forcing. Forcefully pushing those thoughts out of his head, he turned to Gaby to ask clarification on the objects. Without turning to him, she replied.

"Those are the devices that will allow you to access the System. Simply push the Activation Stone into the belt Turbine to create the link-up. Your suit should then snap into place."

He stared at her back in disbelief before turning to Serena. She had an amused look on her face, but there was something else in there as well. He wanted to ask her about it the suit and what it could do, but she beat him to it. Opening her mouth, she spoke to him in low tones.

"Weihan, this suit is the result of five years of researching, planning and designing. Gaby has this suit just the way she wants it. Every weapon and piece of armour is made to her exact specifications. I don't know what you're thinking, but I can tell you this. We have had twelve tests to find the perfect bearer. Twelve tests which all ended in various forms of failure from flickering lights to a complete crashing of the entire Australasia Worldwide computer network. This is the suit that will save us – the RAPTOR suit."

Weihan blinked. Raptor suit. He would be clad in a suit based on a bug but with the same name as his Ranger Powers. The irony was coming off in globs it seemed. Some confusion must have shown on his face because Serena smiled slightly and opened her mouth again.

"It's an acronym. It stands for Rapid Adaptability Powered Transformation Operation Response. A bit wordy; but that's why it was shortened. As far as weapons go, you'll be equipped with a basic sword, gun and a few daggers – that's about it. Good luck."

Weihan took the two items from her and stepped into the tube. Tentatively, he placed the "Turbine" onto his waist and didn't blink as he felt a belt encircle his waist. However, he did gasp as it tightened a bit too much. After a few seconds, he decided that no one would loosen it and he'd have to deal with it the way it was. He didn't like that much, but there was little he could do with it. Gaby's voice came through the glass easily.

"All right Wei, we're ready to start. The energy shield will protect us and you should things get out of hand. I'm sure Serena has told you about using the RAPTOR suit. Basically, it can be used to easily adapt to all situations and Wraiths. It's a jack of all trades."

"So it's a million dollar Swiss army knife?"

"It's a thirty million dollar piece of highly advanced technology that is light years ahead of anything you have ever seen before. Now, it's recommended that you don't say anything because if you do – and the transformation works – the programming will only respond to that word. So, I guess you can say something and hope to fail I guess."

Weihan rolled his eyes and steeled himself. The technology wasn't light years ahead of anything he had seen before; it looked to be barely on par with Lightspeed's morphers and blasters. If this was what thirty million dollars could create…then apart from Lightspeed and Bio-Lab, the Earth was fucked. He signed to himself and thought he might as well give it a shot. If it failed, he could always fight the Wraiths with his Ninjetti Powers or round up the other active Rangers around the globe. He had a feeling Jason still had his Powers, but wasn't sure short of asking him directly. He wondered when that had happened, but was snapped out of his musings by Gaby's voice.

"Weihan, begin the test."

Transferring the Activation Stone into his right palm, he rotated it until it fit perfectly in his grip. Raising his arm up above his waist a brief flash of mischief enveloped him. As he spoke, his words were tinged with the slightest trace of humour and irony.

"Henshin!"

As he pushed the Activation stone into the Turbine, he felt a massive rush of power flow through his body and flow out through the top of his head. He felt _connected_ to the Power again and for a split second felt like he could morph into his full armour. So immersed in the feeling of being connected to the Grid was he; that he didn't notice the waves of power and energy that were steadily enveloping him – nor the whirlwind that was beginning to form at his feet. Quickly, the feeling of power faded into a burning sensation. A fire ripped through his nerves, sending pain rushing up and out. Falling to his knees, he could only gasp in a mixture of pain, fear and wonder as the Rider suit he had seen shimmered onto his body. For a few seconds, the pain abated, leaving him with a feeling of mild power. Breathing heavily, he was on the verge of standing up again when immense pain coursed through him once again. He was dimly aware of voices screaming his name and beating against the glass. His spine arched as bolts of power erupted from his skin and beat against the energy shield. He was almost hoarse from the constant screaming, but the pain was still coming in intensifying waves.

Outside the tube, there was pure chaos. Initially, there had been some degree of confusion over the word Weihan had chosen, but that changed into shock, awe and excitement when the System powered up. And then the energy whirlwind had formed; taking all of them by surprise. So far, the energy shield was holding but it wasn't designed to contain the amount of energy that was endlessly coming from Weihan. From his station, Bin's eyes scrolled over the multitude of information on his screen. Opening his mouth, he was about to relay what he saw when the first bolts began to strike the shield.

"Gaby, the energy levels are rapidly approaching critical. We can't monitor the flow!"

As the room descended into chaos, Gaby stayed at her station; resolutely staring at the screen. Shouts and yells blended into one another as alarms started blaring. One after the other, the painstakingly created instruments that were designed to monitor and contain the flow of energy into the System failed spectacularly. Serena screamed as her monitor exploded, showering her with microfilaments of glass and various circuitry. Crawling to an undamaged terminal, her eyes widened as she mentally processed the information.

"Gaby! We need to stop this! His going to die if he's there any longer!"

Gaby whirled around and stared at her; eyes blazing with ferocious intensity. She was so close to achieving her goals; she wasn't going to stop now. Weihan had sustained the energy for much longer than any other test subject had before. Just a little more time wouldn't kill him; they had to know that!

"No! Just a little longer! We're so close!"

Serena looked over at Canan; who was dealing with multiple exploding screens and terminals. She looked at the energy whirlwind with fear gripping her heart. If he didn't come out of the whirlwind in the next ten minutes, he wouldn't be coming out at all.

Inside the tube, the bolts still forced their way out of Weihan's body. Even when he was forced to walk through Hell he had never felt this kind of pain. He slumped down to the floor of the chamber yet again as the Rider armour vanished in a blinding flash. He saw that the Activation Stone had fallen out of the Turbine and was glowing from the inside. He reached towards it but stopped as it rose up and started spinning. All pain in his body faded away as he concentrated on the spinning of the stone. Standing up, he saw that it was always in his field of vision and an image was being superimposed over it. To him, it looked almost like…but that was impossible. He hadn't come to him since the Final Battle but stranger things had happened since then. He opened his mouth to speak; finding his throat to be very raw. When he managed to talk to the image, his voice was scratchy and bewildered.

"Zordon?"

TBC…


	3. Rider Rising Part Three

Kamen Rider Tyrant

Chapter Three: Rider Rising – Part Three

He blinked again and swallowed hard. It wasn't possible. The last time Zordon had come to him was due to him needing to defeat Xonix one way or another. The images he had shown him in order to strengthen him still resonated in his mind, but they were shadowed by the sad fact that by choosing to destroy Xonix; those Rangers would never be. He had debated with himself on telling them, but he resigned himself to the fact that they wouldn't believe him. Plus, his ex girlfriend – Nisha – thought that the Ultra Rangers were some sort of government propaganda. He hadn't corrected her…but why was Zordon in front of him? He tried speaking again. This time, his voice came out louder and clearer.

"Zordon? Is it really you?"

The image of the ancient sage smiled warmly and nodded once. Weihan could feel tears springing into his eyes, but he barely held his composure. Why was Zordon in front of him? The image opened its mouth and Zordon's deep voice issued forth.

"Yes, Weihan. It is me. The Powers that be have allowed me to come back for a short while to guide you. You are now leaving the world of Rangers behind you, but the door has not swung shut the full way. Your Ultra Powers; diminished as they were in your final battle with Xonix have been fully restored. This includes your Zords and all of your weapons and armour forms."

The former Ranger swallowed hard again and furrowed his brow in confusion. He had been fully repowered. So there was no reason for him to use the Rider System. He said as much to Zordon, who smiled and answered him in a calm tone.

"I am aware of you testing out this Rider System. Your Powers have been recharged, but your DNA has already bonded with the Morphing Gem and that will suppress the majority of your Powers except for your Battle Armour and Assault Armour. Now, I must leave you for you are being challenged to fight on two fronts."

He didn't want this to happen. Zordon couldn't leave him – not after dropping that bombshell on him. His Powers had been restored, but they would be suppressed because of the Rider System? Why not use his own Powers against the Wraiths? Bloodless Mary wouldn't know what hit her and the Wraiths would all flee in fear. He knew there was a reason for this; he just wished he had something more to go on. Unexpectedly, Zordon's voice returned; stronger than before.

"The last time I came to you, I showed you what life would be like had you not destroyed Xonix. I now show you a continuation of that timeline to prepare you for what lies ahead."

Weihan steeled himself and focused his gaze on the spinning Activation Stone…or Morphing Gem. It seemed to pulse slowly with a bright light; drawing him in until he wasn't sure of where he was. He looked around him and found himself to be in a futuristic command room of some sort. He saw himself briefing three other individuals and then doing some sort of arm movement. A flash of multicoloured light later and he saw four Rangers in front of him – each with the same circular compass/V logo on their uniforms. The compass logo looked similar to the emblems that Operation Overdrive used, but he was curious on why they were used by these Rangers. The scene shifted to the outside, where a horde of robotic patchwork soldiers were advancing towards a base on a rocky plain. The Rangers materialized in front of the foot soldiers and started attacking. After a few hits, a monster appeared and faced off against the Orange Ranger. He saw himself…not himself but whoever was in the suit pull out twin sai and run at the creature.

The image washed out to white. When it cleared, he found himself on the floor of the testing chamber with his Turbine and Activation stone at his feet. The Turbine looked less blocky and angular as it had before, now looking like a thick morpher. The depression in the center was deeper and wider and strangely, there was an activation button on the side. It was concealed in the metal; but the button as there. Weihan paused for a moment as he tried to figure out why the button would be there. All he needed to do was to push the Activation Stone into the Turbine and say his transformation word. Pushing the conundrum to the back of his mind, he picked up the Activation Stone and noticed that it didn't look like a lump of coal anymore. It looked like the crystals in the Zeonizers, but much smaller and spherical in shape. Inhaling deeply, he transferred his new Activation Gem to his right hand and picked up the Turbine with his left. Standing up, he looked outside through the energy cyclone.

Everyone was in apparent chaos. Things were sparking left and right and it looked like both Serena and Canan were yelling at Gaby. He didn't know why, but he knew it had something to do with him. Idly wondering how much punishment the armour could take, he dropped the Turbine to his belly – just above his navel. Immediately, energy shot out of the Turbine's sides creating a belt. He inhaled deeply again and decided it was time to step up to the plate again.

"HENSHIN!"

At first, there was nothing and Weihan wondered if channeling Zordon had been too much for the Gem. Then there was an explosion of Power that flowed out from the Turbine – much like his second Morph in the Ultra Cavern all those years ago. The energy covered his body, but it felt different this time. More welcoming and gentle as opposed to overpowering surges. The armour also formed differently; flowing on gently…although it looked much different than the copyright infringement of the first form. As soon as the helmet formed, he grinned wickedly and flung out his arms in front of him.

The energy shield exploded outwards – causing everyone to duck behind whatever cover they could find. Some hid behind doors, others behind metal consoles but all of them were relatively safe from the shards of glass. White steam poured out of the opening and the energy cyclone slowly dissipated into nothingness. From her place of safety behind the console she had been manning, Serena looked out to the wreckage of the Testing chamber. Tears sprang to her eyes as she thought of the massive energy feedback that must have happened and of the loss of the young man Gaby had hoped would be their savior. Trying to find his body would be a futile exercise, as it had more than likely been disintegrated with the Turbine and Activation Stone. Thirty million dollars had just been destroyed in a burst of energy and light. She silently prayed that it was a quick death.

A low growling caught her attention and she slowly looked behind her. A section of the wall had been shattered and past the wreckage, she saw a sight that made her cold. The same mirror which had been used to tell Weihan of the danger of the Wraiths was there. The cameras that had been pointing at it had been knocked over by the shattering of the energy shield…and the mirror had a crack in it. She looked over at Gaby and was stunned. Her boss was looking at the mirror with a look of disbelief on her face. Her head shook fervently from side to side and her body shook with either fear, sadness or a mixture of both. She watched as the mirror pulsed once and then twice. A horrible feeling of dread washed over her as malevolent laughter issued from the cracked mirror. Just as it had done before, an arm stretched out of the reflective surface and withdrew.

Then, it punched out.

Shards of the mirror flew out and embedded themselves in the wall opposite. Serena could only look at the sight in growing terror as a hideous beast struggled to pull itself free from its shattered prison. To her, it looked like a Minotaur – a half human, half bull monster that was rumoured to lurk the Cretan Labyrinth in Ancient Greece…but that was just a myth. Finally, the creature freed itself and looked at the remains of the mirror, throwing its head back and laughing madly. The sounds were like shattering glass and Serena clapped her hands over her ears to lessen the sound. The Wraith breathed in and spoke in a voice reminiscent of sand on paper.

"At last. I walk upon the ground once more. Not confined or constricted in any way. No one can defeat me and I will brush all aside to reach my goal."

The Wraith stepped forward menacingly. Its head was adorned with glass shards and its horns seemed to radiate an unearthly light. Serena tried to scoot away from the creature, but all she could grasp were pieces of glass. She fearfully thought that once the creature reached her, she would be killed in an instant. To be shattered from the inside out. As if sensing her thoughts, the Wraith turned its gaze on her and addressed her directly.

"Yes, you will make a good first victim. Your fear is intoxicating. It has been far too long since a human was scared of my power. For you see, I am the Taurus Wraith; the first of many whom will swarm upon your lands and devour all. All in the name of our leader – Bloodless Mary."

Serena couldn't help it – she screamed out for whoever could save her. She didn't want to die like this; not at the hands of some deranged mirror monster. Not without defending herself in some way…but there was nothing to defend herself with except glass. At that moment, a voice rang out.

"Not on my watch."

TBC...


	4. Rider Rising Part Four

A/N: And I'm finally back after an extremely busy few months. Updates will come sporadically, so don't expect any regular updates for any of my stories. That said, enjoy!

Kamen Rider Tyrant

Rider Rising – Part Four

At that moment, two things happened simultaneously. First, a ball of energy flew from the still smoking ruins of the Testing chamber; striking the creature and causing it to fly into the wall hard. The second thing was that the energy coalesced into something that could only be described as a humanoid figure wearing what appeared to be spandex or Lycra. The helmet had no discernable mouthpiece, instead it was moulded in the shape of a snarling dinosaur head – much like the Orange Ranger's had been. The torso armour was a simple vest with upward curving shoulder plates. In the centre of the chest, a golden coin gleamed with the stylized image of some sort of dinosaur. The colouring of the bodysuit was a solid orange with white gloves, black boots and a stylized fire pattern running up the sides. From beneath the helmet came the unmistakable pissed off voice of Weihan.

"Get away from her, it's me you want"

Under the helmet, Weihan sighed to himself. All that effort into making a grand entrance had been wasted by that one cheesy line. Then again, the only time he had to throw out a throw-away one-liner was the time he had helped Tommy with his little problem in Reefside. Shifting his feet, he looked at the monster and swallowed hard. While it had been a few years since he had seen a monster, the Wraith in front of him made Psychogre look positively tame. While he knew how a minotaur was supposed to look, the creature in front of him was anything but normal. Jagged spikes dotted its body and he could swear he saw some sort of liquid moving beneath the cracking "skin". He pushed down his fear and adjusted his stance – ready to throw himself away if he needed to. He was itching to pull out whatever weapon he had or even summon up his Raptor Sabre, but he wanted to see what he could do unarmed first. And of course, there was that little thing about not wanting to blow his cover; even if his real Powers were suppressed.

With an inarticulate roar, the Wraith lunged forward with its claws and teeth bared. The newly created Rider leapt out of the way and swept the creature's legs out from under it. The Wraith fell to the ground with a thump but flipped to a standing position. Without thinking, Weihan ran at the beast in an attempt to blindside it or maybe to even hurt it in some way; but was shocked back to reality as his hands were caught in the creature's crushing grip. Realising he was in deep shit if he couldn't get free, Weihan tried a different tactic. Remembering how he had channeled his powers into his fists in Reefside, he closed his eyes and concentrated. Snapping his eyelids open, he lifted his right boot and firmly planted it in the torso of the Wraith; barely registering the subtle flames that licked the edges of the impact site. Pain and surprise registered in the eyes of the Wraith before it released its grip and staggered back, its hand clutching the damaged area. Weihan's right hand went down to his left side automatically; feeling for a weapon that wasn't there. Muttering a small curse to himself, he kept his eyes on the Wraith as he tried to access the built in knowledge stores that every Power was supposed to have.

No such luck this time. Although he didn't know it, the Rider powers were being monitored closely by Australasia Worldwide and although the default costume had changed, the settings and configurations hadn't. Unbeknownst to him, he had created an anomaly in the system when he had channeled his powers into his feet and his slowly recharging Ranger Powers were also throwing the monitors off synch. Where there would normally be automatic cues on the inside of his visor, he was left trying to maneuver through a complicated menu system to access the most basic of his Rider weaponry. Finally selecting the option he wanted, he held out his right hand and called upon it.

"Rider Blade!"

In a flash of light and fire, the Rider Blade appeared. It wasn't anything like his Sabre; no ornate decorations or gold trimmings. There wasn't even an aura of lethality around it…it was just – there. As his eyes roamed over the delightfully dull shape, he groaned out loud as he made the connection to what it was based off.

"Great. Every other Rider gets flashy blades…and I get the butter knife from Hell."

A muffled laugh to his left made him smile to himself. It seemed he was successful in making Serena think of something else, rather than the situation she was in. Briefly, he wondered about if any sound would travel through the air ducts but decided not to think about that too much. He'd ask after the battle…when there wasn't a freaky mirror monster staring at him with hateful intent. As he shifted his stance yet again, he was aware that the Taurus Wraith's hand hadn't moved from the wound on its belly. Adjusting his grip on his blade, he raced toward the Wraith with an intent to destroy it. With frightening speed, the Wraith ripped its hand away from its belly; intercepting the attack and flinging Weihan into the opposite wall. Barely registering the screams and gasps around him, the downed Rider staggered to his feet, ignoring the flashing displays on the inside of his visor. Shaking his head, he noticed some sort of handle sticking out of its stomach. He knew he hadn't stabbed it as his Rider Blade was still in his hand…and then his eyes widened as he remembered what Ransik had once said to him.

Flashback

"_The ability to pull weapons from my body may have been given to me by the Orgs, but even they copied it from somewhere."_

"_From where? Or rather, from what?"_

"_All they said was they copied the idea from a myth they had heard during their imprisonment. Remember, when I found them, they were still trapped in those statues. They said something about monsters coming from mirrors being able to pull weapons from their bodies or sculpt their blood into weapons"_

End Flashback

And here it was – living proof that what Ransik had told him was truth. Everyone watched in horror and fascination as the Wraith pulled a sword from its belly, which sealed up almost immediately; but left a small crack in its armour.

"Oh that's sick."

He sighed to himself as he heard Serena's comment. He had wanted to tell her to deal with what she was seeing, but that would have been a bad move. He had to constantly remind himself that he was amongst people who he worked with and that – to them at least – he was supposed to be new to this whole experience. He had to play the role that was given to him for as long as he could.

"I've seen worse"

But that couldn't mean he had to always stay in character. He quickly snapped off that train of thought as the Wraith drew its sword back; ready to strike. Pushing off the wall, Weihan rolled under the strike and slashed at its legs. Despite no visible reaction on its face, he knew he had done some damage judging on how much black blood poured out of the wounds. The wounded monster took a step forward, its knees making horrific crackling noises reminiscent of a bag of plastic indicator tabs. Rolling onto his feet again, Weihan grimaced under his helmet. Either he was doing too much filing or his brain was trying to tell him something. Lowering his Blade, he rushed at the Wraith with a series of powerful tornado kicks that sent it staggering back. He knew he had to finish it off, but he didn't know what would trigger his Final Attack. Certainly, he couldn't use the technique he had used to destroy Apollonia as that attack had been a last ditch effort on his part.

Unfortunately, this small bit of introspection meant he had moved focus away from the thing that really should have been at the forefront of his mind – the Wraith. Sensing the lapse of focus, the creature swung its sword in a wide arc; the blade impacting against the front of his vest and throwing him against one of the consoles – destroying it in a shower of fire and light. It watched the supposed hero struggle to get up for a short while before turning its attention to the woman it had spoken to before. It knew it wasn't the first of its kind to set foot into the Human world, but it was the first to have crushed a would-be hero so soon after release. It chuckled under its breath and turned its attention to the one who had seen it come out of the mirror. Dropping its Blood Sword, it spoke in a low tone.

"Many years ago, when our leader was defeated, the sorcerer cast charms and spells on us. These were designed to block our full power so we would not destroy all life in the surrounding area upon our eventual release. Have no idea why he didn't want that happening."

Serena involuntarily shuddered at that. So the Wraiths weren't at full power when they came out of the mirrors? And it was the result of magic? Having seen what magic could do due to the various battles of the Power Rangers, she wondered what it would take for a Wraith to fully "charge up". As if reading her mind, the Taurus Wraith continued.

"There were only two ways a Wraith could regain all of its abilities. One way was the natural progression of time. Unfortunately, this requires no action to be taken by the Wraith for two to three hours and since we are an active bunch; that was hard to do. The other way is more fun."

The Wraith was coming closer to Serena now. Gaby, Canan and the others around them were frozen with fear and kept shooting quick glances to the crumpled and unmoving form of Weihan.

"The sorcerer thought he was being smart. He thought that if we were able to escape into the world that no human could be around to watch us. He decreed that the other way for us to regain our power was to kill the first person who saw us escape. In the case of large crowds, we would only need to kill the closest person. You are both the closest person and the first to see my escape. I am sure you are a nice person and do not want to die like this. Be glad for your blood and the energy inside it will be absorbed into my very being – you will live forever in a way."

As it finished speaking, the Wraith crouched down and stretched out its left hand. From the palm, five small tubes began to slowly emerge. Serena inhaled deeply for what she thought would be her last scream when another voice cut through the air once again.

"I said not on my watch and I mean it!"

Startled, the Wraith whipped its head around to stare at the would-be hero he thought he had defeated. His stance indicated he had heard everything and was severely pissed off. Under his helmet, Weihan was angry, but he was also curious about what the Wraith had said about the curses. He'd look into those later – when he wasn't staring down a mutated version of the Chicago Bulls' mascot. Zeroing in his focus, he heard the distinct call of the Utahraptor in his ears and let his instincts take over. He felt his right hand come up and tap the centre of the Activation Gem which flashed three times. Twin plumes of fire shot out of the Turbine and were channeled into his legs, making a fiery aura to appear around them. He felt his body relax and then start running toward the dumbfounded creature. As soon as he approached kicking distance, he stopped and brought up his right leg to smash against the Wraith's chest.

The Wraith staggered back with a grin on its face and looked down to its chest – where it was sure a crack would be. However, unbeknownst to the Wraith, Weihan or the staff of Australasia Worldwide, the tap on the Activation Gem had temporarily reconnected Weihan with his link to the Ultra Morphin Grid – the stronger version of the Morphin Grid that was powered by the twelve Ultra Crystals. As the Wraith looked down, it was shocked to see that while there was an imprint of the boot's impact – its skin had not cracked whatsoever. Even more disturbing to it, its body was becoming numb and sluggish. It looked up at the sound of movement to see the Rider land a side kick to the same spot. Once again, the Wraith staggered back a few steps and grinned broadly as it could feel its blood trickling out of the crack that had finally appeared. However, it couldn't move no matter how much it tried.

Under his helmet, Weihan grimaced. He wasn't going to yell out Rider Kick because that would be just stupid. Backing up, he ran at the frozen Wraith once more and jumped into the air in a "traditional" Rider Kick pose with his right leg extended. The fiery aura enveloped his entire leg and took on the shape of a leg of a Utahraptor – claw in the killing position. At the very second his foot connected with the Wraith, his Activation Gem flashed brightly; temporarily blinding those looking. As their vision cleared, they saw Weihan in his Rider armour standing a short distance away from the still frozen Wraith. With startling suddenness, the Wraith dissolved into a pile of sand.

Breathing heavily, Weihan reached up and unlatched his helmet. Looking at the pile of sand that had been the Taurus Wraith, he looked Gaby in the eye and spoke in a low and menacing tone.

"What the fuck was that thing doing here?"


	5. Rider Research Part One

Chapter Two: Rider Research – Part 1

Weihan lay on his back and looked up at the ceiling. He was back in his apartment and reflected on the past 24 hours. He had been given another incredible opportunity to save the World…but it seemed that he was at square one. It didn't seem that he had any allies or back-up to speak of…except the Ultra Rangers and the other Rangers around the world. He somehow didn't think Tommy would be willing to fly halfway around the world to beat up on the new bad guy when he was living the "quiet life" in Reefside. After the destruction of Xonix, the Ultra Rangers had unanimously decided to go into voluntary retirement and give the spotlight back to the Power Rangers – something that proved to be a good thing when Lothor sprung up; although the odd story of a "possible sighting" always popped up from time to time.

The current team were holed somewhere up near Blue Bay Harbour; the Jungle Fury Rangers. Based on the information from Tommy and Jason, they were doing pretty well on their own. Of course, the active Rangers were ready to leap into action if need be. Weihan didn't feel any need to be involved in the lives of the Power Rangers again…he had other matters to deal with. He knew he shouldn't be thinking about his boss, but he suspected Gaby wasn't telling him the whole story. Something about her explanation just seemed…off.

Flashback

_Weihan let the helmet in his hand drop to the ground with a clatter. He kept staring at Gaby as she slowly picked herself up off the floor and brushed her clothes off._

"_I'm waiting, Gaby. What the fuck was that Wraith doing here?"_

_Gaby didn't answer his question immediately; instead walking around the room and collecting the various printouts that had been scattered by the attacks of the Wraith. Weihan felt his anger and rage slowly building up and for the first time in a few years, he actually felt his palms grow hot. Not wanting his Ranger cover blown, he made a conscious effort to calm himself down. Fire shooting out of his palms would raise a few questions he didn't want answered just yet. After flipping through a few of the printouts, the Spanish woman turned to face him; her eyes blazing with something akin to pride with the barest hint of anger._

"_That was something that was never supposed to happen. I knew about the Wraith in the mirror, but I thought it would never break free."_

_He was livid and had to force himself to calm down. The very thought that a monster in a mirror wouldn't eventually escape was insane. He had seen seemingly impenetrable monster barricades and cages destroyed in an instant due to the strangest and most simplistic things. The Wraith breaking out was probably due to one or the other. That or it was something similar to fate…like him getting a new power just as the first monster of the day breaks free of its feeble trappings. Weihan grimaced internally; that sounded like something Tommy would say. He opened his mouth to speak, when Gaby turned around and spoke._

"_The Wraith broke free and it was destroyed by you. What just happened was a magnificent display of our research and back-breaking work. Our system has experienced a few bumps and the armour has strangely changed itself, but that is all right. I'll have Bin take a look at the configuration and the design will shift back the next time you transform."_

_Weihan didn't hear a word she had said because he was looking around the room. Monitors were still emitting light sparks, wafting out smoke or a combination of the two. Papers lay everywhere and hunched near the remains of the Wraith he could see Canan carefully spooning some of the sand into a test tube. He almost rolled his eyes at the sight; some in-built, massively stripped down mass spectrometer had identified the material as 95% ordinary sand and 5% "unidentified" material. He would take a sample of the sand for himself as a "post-battle trophy" and run some tests on it himself. If that didn't identify the unknown substance, he'd send it off to Ninjor. Then again, the percentages were probably way off due to the stripping down of the mass spectrometer. Finishing his slow survey of the room, he turned back to Gaby and asked the question that had been on his mind ever since he saw the Wraith come out of the mirror._

"_Why was the Wraith here? I saw the mirror, so I know it came out of the mirror. What are the conditions that have to be fulfilled before another Wraith breaks free?"_

_Gaby looked him in the eyes and he felt an involuntary shudder go through his body. Something felt off about his boss. He had sensed it this morning, but now it was like it had increased in size. He was about to ask the question again when she answered, her voice infuriatingly calm and controlled._

"_They can only come out under certain circumstances. In the ancient times, the only way they could come out was from mirrors that had been made from blood soaked sand under the shining light of a full moon. Since their imprisonment, the conditions are the same…but different. Mirrors are produced almost every day and there may be accidents during the process. The Wraiths escape from these mirrors. That's all that needs to be said"_

_End Flashback_

And that was it, really. That was the only information that he would get out of Gaby about how the Wraiths could escape. A mirror made under the glow of a full moon infused with blood? It seemed…ritualistic. That and mind-bending. From what he remembered from his High School days there were, on average, around 12 full moons a year. Thanks to Bio-Lab and whatever communications setup Andros was making, mirrors were being produced almost every hour. Combined with the minimalist information Gaby had told him, which amounted to…one giant headache.

Weihan squeezed his eyes shut, willing the ache in his brain away. Outside, he could hear his mother puttering around on the iMac, blissfully unaware of the change in him. Well, not entirely unaware; she knew of him being the Orange Ultra Ranger due to being kidnapped sometime before Xonix's destruction. Of course, she had been stunned and very scared, but she had gotten over it quickly enough. A simple mind spell had done the trick – with her consent of course. Sighing deeply, he brought his mind back to the problem at hand or rather – the problem within eyeshot. Sliding off his bed, he warily eyed his mirrored wardrobe and peered into it intently; trying to see if anything was lurking behind the polished surface. Nothing, except a more intense headache. He was getting nowhere with his…but he still had the sample of sand that "somehow" made its way into his pocket after he had "powered down".

Raising himself from his crouched position, he grabbed the sand sample from his desk and twisted his left wrist counterclockwise. Is a slightly muted flash, his communicator appeared. Like all the retired Ultra Rangers, he still had his communicator in case of a situation where he had to depart from a scene quickly via means of teleportation. Sliding the vial of sand into the pocket of his pants, he closed the door and pressed one of the buttons on the side. Instantly, his body was consumed by the familiar tingle of teleportation. He knew his mother wouldn't really care about his whereabouts or the time he was gone – as long as he called if he would be gone for longer than two weeks.

As his field of vision stabilized, he found himself in a dark cavern. He shivered at the icy temperature and then looked around. He stared longingly at the dormant giants in the shadows before turning his attention to one of the screens in the distance. After stubbing his toe for the tenth time, he cleared his throat and spoke aloud to the empty cave.

"Power on"

TBC…


	6. Rider Research Part Two

AN: And after a short break, we return to Kamen Rider Tyrant!

Pinkie: Finally…Enjoy!

Rider Research: Part Two

It was truly good to be back home.

With a distant rumble accompanied by several grinding gears light slowly illuminated the cave. Weihan stood in the light of what had been his home away from home for five years: the Ultra Cavern. He looked around and felt a smile slowly creep over his face. Memories washed over him as he looked over the familiar consoles, equipments and even the doorway that led to the Medical room and morgue. Stepping forward, he watched in silent remembrance as the Zord bay lit up, the fluorescent lights showing the bulks of the massive fighting machines that he had once used to defend the planet. Now, the once majestic machines – including his Utahraptor Dinozord – were covered in a thick layer of dust, dirt and bat guano…except one.

Standing under the brilliant light that illuminated it, the Crocodile Ninjazord stood in its transformed Warrior mode. The mighty machine stood tall; as if ready to spring into action at any moment. Comparing the cleanliness, it seemed that nothing had touched it in his absence…but he knew better. Already, his trained eyes were zeroing in on the scars, dents and gouges caused by the robot's last battle. He still had to run a diagnostic over some of the systems, but thought against it. He wasn't here to reminisce about old times and past battles; he was here to see if his new "powers" stood up. Walking past the dormant Zords, he stopped on a seemingly empty platform and spoke two words to the still air.

"Memory download"

At once, he felt a strange tickling sensation inside his head as the day's events were downloaded from his mind and safely stored inside the cavern's supercomputer. He had long since learned to withstand the sensations caused by the memory download and thought nothing of it. A few minutes later, the sensation stopped and a console raised itself out of the stone floor. Using the keypad, he deftly skimmed through the downloaded memories until he found where he thought Zordon had spoken to him. As he played back the scene on the small monitor, he couldn't see Zordon. That was to be expected as he suspected there wasn't any physical presence. If there had been, he would have had to answer uncomfortable questions. He suspected he would have to answer them anyway when his Ranger powers were fully restored, but he thought it was best not to dwell on that for long.

He paused the image and sighed. Thinking of the ancient sage had caused him to think of the images shown to him of the pseudo-Overdrive Rangers and the timeline they were in. If Xonix wasn't destroyed, he would be fighting alongside them as their Orange pseudo-Overdrive Ranger or whatever they called themselves. He didn't know and really, didn't care. He had a feeling, though, that the vision would come up to bite him on the ass sooner or later. He shoved that thought to the back of his mind with a small sigh. No use worrying about what may or may not come down the track

Anyway, he had more pressing things on his mind; such as seeing where his new powers ranked on the scale. Tapping in a few quick keystrokes, a creature materialized in front of him. It was a perfect replica of the Minotaur Wraith that he had defeated earlier…except that this one wouldn't be as sociopathic. He hoped it wouldn't be anyway. The Simul-Deck had been upgraded to the exact specifications as Ninjor had sent over but there was always a possibility the ancient sage would get one or two things wrong. He supposed he only had himself to blame in case something did happen as he hadn't used the Simul-Deck for training in a long while. The last time he had used it was to try out a new recipe for a chocolate milkshake, but that program wasn't likely to cross over with the Wraith.

If it did…well, he doubted the reporters would find a giant humanoid milkshake funny.

Grinning to himself at the thought of a giant chocolate milkshake terrorizing Sydney, he gave the mental signal for the simulation to begin. Half a second later, he knew something had gone wrong. The creature standing in front of him was the Taurus Wraith, all right, but it looked wrong. He prayed the Wraith wasn't resurrected in some way through the Simul-Deck. Facing off against sentient food in whatever warped daydreams he had was one thing. Fighting against a creature he had destroyed a few hours beforehand was another entirely different thing.

The beast in front of him blinked slowly and exhaled. It looked down at its hands and body as if in amazement. It took a slow breath in and formed a semblance of a smile. Weihan tensed himself and swallowed hard. Whatever had happened, it didn't look good.

"I live again? How can this be?"

Weihan swallowed hard. The original Wraith had been destroyed; of that he was certain. Something inside his brain nagged at him as the Wraith took an unsteady step forward. Dropping into a fighting stance, he waited for the Wraith to finally take notice of him.

"You. You destroyed me, but I will have the last laugh Ranger!"

Diving out of the way as the Wraith swung its fists, Weihan frowned. While it was true that his Ultra Crystal had been recharged, his Rider System was what he was using now. Flicking his left wrist experimentally, he was surprised to see the Turbine materialize in his hand. Learning not to question such occurrences, he slid the Turbine over his belt and felt the belt tighten around him. Lifting up the Morphing Gem in his right hand, he extended it outward across his left shoulder.

"Henshin!"

Inserting the Gem into the Turbine, he was engulfed in an explosion of power. In the epicenter of the flames, he could distantly hear the triumphant bellows of his Main Three Power Animals as he was reconnected with the Ultra Grid once more. As the armour slid over his body, he was somewhat thankful that the images was of the Taurus Wraith and not the other monsters he had faced in the past…like Psychogre. Inwardly shuddering at the thought of seeing that creature again, he settled into a ready stance and waited for the Taurus to make the first move.

Bellowing in rage, the Wraith lumbered forwards sluggishly and stopped in surprise. Not wanting to waste the chance, Weihan silently summoned his Rider Blade and leapt into the air. Bringing the blade down onto the mirrored armour of the Wraith, he snorted as the Blade bounced off…just as he thought it would. Dismissing the useless weapon, he relaxed his body and let the Rider System take over.

Three seconds later, he abandoned that idea as well. Snarling at the Wraith, he tightened his right fist and forced fire into his fist. Leaping up a second time, he drew back his arm and slugged the reborn Wraith in its chest. Hearing the distinct crackle of breaking glass, he removed his fist to see flames spread out rapidly from the initial impact site. With a low wail, the Wraith froze and exploded into sand. Shaking his head, Weihan powered down the Rider System and looked at the pile of sand on the floor, the sight reminding him of something he had seen before. Dismissing the thought, he walked over to the Simul-Deck and switched it off.

Tomorrow was the day for more answers.

TBC…


	7. Bird Brain

Disclaimer: Kamen Rider is not mine. Power Rangers is not mine. The Ultra Crystals and all concepts and ideas used within the 100+ chapter story are mine. Everything else is their own property. Enjoy!

Chapter 3: Bird Brain

This was turning out to be the day from Hell.

He hardly had any sleep at all the night before, nor had he left the Ultra Cavern, but now knew why the sand looked familiar. Xonix had sent a Wraith down as one of the first monsters he had faced as the Orange Ultra Ranger. The Wolf Wraith had played a sadistic cat-and-mouse game with him at school. Weihan had performed an incredibly risky spell to transport the both of them away from civilians and had ended up getting stabbed for his troubles. As of right now, its remains were probably floating around Angel Grove Desert somewhere after it had disintegrated after a Claw Shred from his Dinozord. He seriously doubted the destroyed Overlord knew what he was unleashing with the Wraith; he was just grateful that he had destroyed it before it could become stronger. After about ninety minutes of light sleep, he had been woken by the Communication console. A message from Ninjor had come in regarding the nature of the Wraiths and the Rider System.

_Weihan, I received your message and did some digging. The Rider System is a truly magnificent invention if its designs and functions are the same as the television shows. However, it is true what Zordon said; your Ultra Powers – though recharged – are being suppressed by the System. Experimentation on your part is required to see what you can or cannot do. Beware; evil will come from both within and without and darkness can come at any moment now that the Wraiths can emerge from mirrors. Zedd is going to get a kick out of that…_

Evil coming from both within and without…he felt a shiver go down his spine as he recalled where he had heard those words before. His great, great, great granddaughter from the future wracked by Evil; the same descendant that probably wouldn't be born since…well, since before the final battle with Xonix. Forcibly removing those thoughts from his mind, he focused on the present moment; more specifically the people in front of him. Gaby had grabbed him as he stepped out of the elevator and had all but dragged him to the Testing Room, where he had gaped at the advanced technology there. Well, she thought that was what he was gaping at anyway; in reality, he was gaping at the obsolete hardware.

"Weihan, our sensors recorded a transformation last night. While it's important that you see what can be done, we ask that you think of our public image."

He fought the urge to roll his eyes at the spiel. The Rider Punch finisher was interesting, but it had taken a damn lot of concentration to effectively channel the flames. Of course, it would become easier with practice; but he couldn't practice in front of Gaby without her becoming suspicious. On the other hand, only one person outside immediate family knew he was the Orange Ranger and that person was…well, she wasn't an issue anymore. Blinking back to reality a second time, he forced himself to listen to the words coming out of his boss' mouth. With any luck, she would reveal where this Bloodless Mary was operating from.

"In time, you will notice the System becoming stronger due to the upgrades we are putting into it. We're working on an upgrade now that will stop any sudden surges of power like the one we recorded last night. We need to be in a situation where we can monitor everything effectively and efficiently. To that extent, here is a list of proposed changes and upgrades."

He eyed the thick stack of papers warily before leafing through the pages. There were all sorts of upgrades and features planned; from weapon upgrades to armour strengthening and even a water recycler. He finally had his answer on why the concentration was needed. He would just bypass working with the System and tap into his Ultra Crystal for the next time. Rolling his eyes at the changes, he walked over to a nearby shredder and slowly fed the stack into the feeder tray over Gaby's protests. His good deed for the day done, he ensured all of the papers had been thoroughly shredded before turning back to Gaby.

"I've learned it's better to just let things happen and not try to schedule things. Much better on the psyche as well. So, what's on the agenda for this morning?"

Gaby opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by the sound of the nearby radio. Shooting an annoyed glance to Serena, she walked over to turn the volume down when she stopped dead in her tracks.

"Uh, if you're just joining us we have a breaking announcement. It seems that the peace from the destruction of the Overlord Xonix a few years ago has ended. We're getting reports that a strange mirrored bird creature is menacing the people outside the Hoyts Cinemas on George Street."

Weihan summoned the Turbine to him in a flash of light; surprising all in the room. In a swift motion, he slid the device onto his waist and felt the belt fasten securely. Seemingly pulling the Activation Gem out of his chest, he held the polished gem up, before calling out the activation phrase.

"Henshin!"

TBC…


	8. Ignition

AN: Am taking a few liberties with the shoddiness of materials used but, hey, it takes a damn lot of material and leather for a Rider suit and if that material can't sustain the power channeled by a former-ish Ultra Ranger…

Chapter 4: Ignition

This was, by far, the stupidest thing he had ever done.

As he landed on the ground, Weihan realized with a start that it actually eclipsed holding an impromptu press conference without preparation by a long shot. It even eclipsed entering a dimensional vortex with a rather unstable monster and a fellow Ranger. He had transformed in the Training Area and had run out the door, ignoring the protests from Gaby and the rest of the team. To say the students were surprised at his sudden appearance was like saying the ocean was a bit wet. Camera phones had been pulled out of every possible opening and multiple shots had been snapped of his appearance. He had no doubt that the images would be uploaded onto the internet shortly, if they weren't already cruising the information super-highway like all the other images that had been snapped of him 'in uniform' during the years.

Maybe it was a bit of a bias, but he particularly enjoyed the images of himself alongside the Dino Thunder team. Those few hours had been fun. Chuckling lightly at those thoughts and images from the past, he turned to look at the creature in front of him.

Whatever the Wraith was based on, it was damn ugly. Its humanoid body was covered with feathery tufts and its front appendages ended in grasping talons. As it opened its mouth, Weihan could see something warping at the back of its throat…like some sort of blast just itching to be released.

"I am the Bird Wraith and you will die for all the pain you have caused Bloodless Mary!"

Pain was relative and he knew that one or two destroyed Wraiths were a non-issue for even the most anal of overlords. Still, it didn't hurt to know that his hard work was being felt by the enemy. He could hear Gaby screaming incoherently in his ear and he rolled his eyes. His boss really needed to learn to relax and go with the flow. Settling into a fighting stance, he wondered if this was what would have happened if he took up John Howard's offer to work for the government those years ago. Circling the Wraith, he channeled fire into his fists and noted with delight that the initial concentration had all but vanished.

"Get that fire out! Weihan, the limiters just exploded! If you use up too much power, you'll explode as well!"

He rolled his eyes again and switched off the speaker. Limiters were only there for the weak and he was anything but. Cracking his knuckles, he launched himself at the Wraith and tackled it away from the pavement onto the street. Ducking under a claw swipe, he summoned his Rider Blade wordlessly and channeled the fire in his fists into the blade. Not made to take such power, he watched in amused dismay as the Rider Blade melted from the energy. Dropping the now useless lump of metal to the ground, he charged again at the Wraith when it did something unexpected.

It opened its beak again and fired off a sonic blast; similar to Kira's Ptera Scream. The compressed sonic wave struck him in his chest and he crashed to the ground in pain. Rolling onto his stomach, he coughed some of the pain away and checked himself for injuries. The Ultra Power would heal him anyway and if anyone noticed, he would chalk it up to the Rider System…although the hype of the System was starting to wane. A sudden screeching noise in his ear made him wince before he heard Gaby's voice come over the speakers again. Apparently she had bypassed his silencing of the speaker.

"Weihan, what happened? The Rider Blade is destroyed and it looks like it melted! Finish it fast, the news crews are coming!"

Finish it fast…he wanted to laugh out loud at that statement but settled for shaking his head. He would do his duty as a Ranger and ensure the creature couldn't be resurrected in any way, shape or form. Closing his eyes, he tapped into his Ninjetti spirit and allowed the primordial spirit access to his body. Leaping up, he deftly avoided three sonic blasts before slamming his fists down onto the Wraith's beak; cracking it in half. Shutting out its screeching, he didn't miss a beat as he kneed the Wraith in the stomach and kicked it into an abandoned car.

"Watch the property damage!"

Ignoring the shout from his helmet speakers, he prepared himself for the kill…only to blink in shock and dismay as the Wraith formed a short spear and shield out of its blood. Growling in anger, he started forward; only to be thrown back by a jab from the spear. Without any weapons, he couldn't get close to the Wraith. Well, that wasn't totally true. He could pull out his Raptor Sabre, but that would cause more questions to be asked...questions that he wasn't ready to answer just yet.

Shrugging off the pain, he eyed the Wraith warily. A blow from behind would destroy it but the issue was…that could work, provided he didn't have any distractions. Clearing his mind; he put his plan into action. With the benefit of hindsight, he would realize that – all things considered – it wasn't the smartest move but it was the only one in his mind at the time. Running at the monster, he dodged several swipes and blasts while he charged his fists with fire. One could hear the sizzling of leather as the energy ate through the lightly armoured gloves but that energy would not harm his skin.

Leaping up over the monster, he slammed his naked fist into the Wraith's back and pumped all the excess energy stored into the creature. As the Wraith shrieked in pain, he removed his fist and took a few steps back. As the fire blasted out of his Turbine, he felt it race to his right leg and grinned wickedly. His first appearance in public was the one…and possibly only time he would indulge himself with the attack name; until he thought of a better one.

"Rider Kick!"

TBC…


	9. Departure

Chapter 5: Departure

"What the hell was that? Why was it on fire?"

Weihan rolled his eyes as he stripped off the remains of his lightly armoured gloves. Deactivating the Rider System hadn't helped as the leather had melted onto his skin and was becoming a bit of a pain to remove. His Rider Kick had destroyed the Bird Wraith in a spectacular explosion of sand and fire but the news crews had gotten their images…including his yelling of 'Rider Kick'. He had covered up his escape by launching a small fireball at his feet and retreating under the ensuing smoke cloud. Of course, Gaby wasn't happy at the way he had ignored her orders and was railing at him for causing the limiters to explode. The destruction of the Rider Blade was also a concern…but she had thankfully finished screaming at him for that. Peeling off the last traces of leather from his hands, he walked to the door.

"Where are you going? I can take the System away from you and then you'll be sorry!"

Pausing in his tracks, he considered her threat. If the Rider System was taken from him, he could still fight the Wraiths as the Orange Ranger. However, it would be a bit suspicious if he left for 'lunch' and the Orange Ranger showed up right after. He felt his eyelid start to twitch as he realized that no one else could handle the Power of the Turbine and it had adapted to the Power pathways in his body. Anyone else trying to use the system would be fried from the inside out. Slowly turning, he looked at his angry boss and started to speak. His voice was low, but carried a note of subdued menace.

"Sure, take the system away. From what I recall, you're out of people who can use the System effectively. These powers are evolving faster than your upgrades can keep up with and will eventually become much stronger. So take the System away from me, because I can guarantee you won't find a better Rider."

Gaby stared at him with her mouth open in indignation before brushing past him and stomping out in a rage. Slowly exhaling the tension out of his body, he walked over to the rudimentary scanning and communications station and, over the protests of those watching, pried off one of the panels to begin repairs. The wirework was even more archaic than the external appearance and it showed signs of hasty assemblage. Muttering curses under his breath, he connected a few loosely hanging wires and soldered them together with the tip of his index finger.

"What are you doing?"

Taking an eye off his work, he looked to his right. Standing next to him was Serena and the woman was curiously peering at his work. Biting back a growl, he tried to calm himself as his mind tried to come up with a plausible explanation. Sighing to himself, he continued working while explaining.

"Fixing the internal wiring of the radar and communication array. Based on what I can see the wiring is set up for local surveillance only and there is no coverage for overseas attacks. I understand there is a lessened chance of overseas attacks but…well; it's a good thing to have all bases covered. I would bring this up with Gaby, but…"

He let his sentence trail off knowingly and heard her sigh. Carefully twisting the wires together, he heard the resignation in her voice.

"She wasn't always like this. As long as I've known Gaby Delgado she's been focused and driven but that was before the accident. She moved to Sydney from a city in California called Turtle Cove a few years ago after a crash took the life of her brother Danny."

He paused in his work as his brow slowly creased. Danny…why was that name so familiar to him? Searching his mind over and over for the reason, he bit back a yelp as he figured it out. The Black Wild Force Ranger was the brother of Gaby? It didn't make sense though; the last he knew, Danny was still alive and still in Turtle Cove helping his girlfriend with her shop. Making a mental note to confirm with both Tommy and Cole later, he carefully soldered the last wire to the international board and withdrew his arms. Replacing the panel, his fingers flew across the keys as he replied to Serena's words.

"Her brother died? That kind of makes sense why her personality would change; but it doesn't excuse her from being a control freak."

"No, it doesn't and we're all glad you stood up to her. She needs to be knocked off her pedestal sometime and –"

A sharp burst of static from the speakers cut her off and sent staff scrambling to their stations. Weihan found himself being pushed away by the designated Communications Officer who tried to hone in on the signal. Recognizing his feeble attempts, Weihan pushed the Officer away and easily strengthened the signal. Pressing the Talk button, he spoke in a clear voice to whoever was on the other side.

"Attention, you have contacted us on a restricted channel. Please identify yourself now."

He hoped to whoever was listening that the communication wasn't from one of the Ultra Rangers but he seriously doubted the outdated equipment could penetrate the sub-dimensional communication channel anyway. Hearing footsteps behind him, he barely looked away as he heard Gaby's voice barking orders at those around him. However, he was unprepared for what he heard.

"This is Mack Hartford from San Angeles. We're in trouble."

TBC…


	10. Irony

AN: And after another short break; KRT is back! Again, Kamen Rider is not mine. Power Rangers is not mine. My little Pony is not mine. All of this should really be obvious for those who do a little background digging. Enjoy!

Chapter 6: Irony

"We are being attacked and the Power Rangers are losing."

He felt a surge of adrenaline power through his body in preparation to move out on his own. There was no way in Hell that anyone was stopping him from going to San Angeles and helping out. The Ranger in him screamed to act while the Rider was also urging him to move. Hands trembling, he pressed the Talk button again and spoke with an audibly cracking voice.

"This is Weihan Liang from Australasia Worldwide. What is your current status?"

He could swear he heard the man on the other side make the connection between his name and his former Ranger status. As an explosion boomed out from the speakers, Weihan reached out behind him with his right hand. Instantly, his Turbine flew across the room into his awaiting hand amidst the gasps of those watching. He smiled inwardly as he realized the Turbine had finally been imprinted with his DNA sequence; something that had been started when Zordon had come to see him. Now, there was no one else that could use the System but him.

"Weihan…yeah, I heard about you from Adam and Kira. Our present situation is bad. We've been knocked out of morph too many times and Tyzonne is slowly reverting back to his mercury state. The monster is…uh…some sort of mirrored horse with strange guys around it. We've been getting reinforcements from Silver Hills but it doesn't look good."

Weihan swore loudly, diverting everyone's attention to him. For the Overdrive Rangers to be losing against a monster was one thing but a mirrored horse? It had to mean a new Wraith that had broken free and Gaby would be thanking him for alerting her to the new threat. Somehow, he didn't think she would be…but it was always nice to dream. Suddenly, the name of the city triggered a memory in his brain and he shot up out of his position. San Angeles…from what her little sister had told him that was where she was now. Voice trembling, he spoke to the Ranger on the other end.

"Mack, can you…I mean; there's someone who is in San Angeles that…shit. Can you tell me if there is a Jacqui Apple among the…casualties?"

He heard some slight shuffling in the background followed by the Ranger's muffled yells to someone behind him. From talks with Bree, he knew that she had left journalism soon after her arrival in the US and had moved in with the family friend who was recently divorced. Apparently nothing had come out of it as the divorcee hadn't wanted to pursue another relationship ever again…or something like that. But if AJ was in San Angeles…he forcefully suppressed the thoughts that welled up from below. He would deal with his feelings later if worst came to the worst.

"AJ? No, she's fine. She's the Ranger's official publicist and she's helping my father talk to the Silver Guardians. I thought she would have told you?"

Weihan shook his head and forced himself to stay calm. Silver Guardians meant Wes or Eric would be there. He asked Mack for directions to their base and said that he would be there as soon as possible. Before he could turn off the communications, Gaby put her foot down and shouted that he wouldn't be going anywhere as Sydney was still under attack from the Wraiths. Fed up with her bullshit, the Rider growled audibly and turned back to his boss. He didn't care that he was talking back to a superior or that he was going off half-cocked. He didn't care about anything anymore…except her. It seemed he would be coming to get her after all…

"You listen and you listen to me good. I am leaving for San Angeles right now on my own. You can either come with or not but I don't give a flying fuck what you want me to do right now. There is a Wraith there and the Rangers can't defeat it on their own. The Rider System was created to help and protect people but in denying me the chance to leave, you're turning your back on the people."

"No! Even with the fastest plane in the world, you'd be getting there thirteen hours after their destruction! How are you going to fly there in a short amount of time?"

"With my help."

Heads turned at the unfamiliar voice and Weihan smiled in relief as he saw the morphed form of the Yellow Dino Thunder Ranger standing in the doorway. Running an eye over the armoured spandex, he raised an eyebrow at the damage he could see. Black scorch marks covered the chest insignia and her Morpher was sparking slightly. Nodding at Kira, he turned to face Gaby and squared his shoulders.

"I'm going to San Angeles now and you cannot stop me."

Gaby growled under her breath and stalked over to the Main Power Transformer. She knew if she turned off the Power to the Turbine, it would stop working and Weihan would be forced to abandon his foolish crusade. There was no chance of a Wraith appearing overseas anyway as her benefactor had informed her of the undeniable truth: Wraiths would only appear in mirrors in and around Sydney as Bloodless Mary's reach could only extend so far…or something along those lines. Before she could extend an arm to take hold of the Main Switch, the strange wrist device on the Ranger squawked to life and issued a voice that she never thought she would have heard from again.

"Ki…uh, Yellow Ranger; have you secured him yet? We'll need his assistance! Whatever these things are, they're almost at our last fall back point!"

Weihan's eyes widened and he sucked in a sharp breath. He recalled Wes telling him that Danny and Max had been recruited into the Silver Guardians with a few other former Rangers; but to hear his voice in such close proximity of Gaby was…interesting to say the least. Looking over at his boss, he saw the colour drain from her face and he squared his shoulders.

"I'm going. Now."

TBC…


	11. The Apple of His Eye

AN: Short chapter to set up the real reveal of the RAPTOR suit to the new Rangers.

Chapter 7: The Apple of His Eye

He wished his armour was sturdier against the elements.

Holding his chest armour in place against the rushing winds, Weihan stood on top of the Ptera Zord while Kira piloted unmorphed. As they hit a particularly rough spot of turbulence, Weihan sighed in resignation as he felt the chest armour rip away from his uniform and tumble away into the ether. The only good thing he could think of was that the screaming of the wind blocked out the screaming in his ear. Apparently Gaby had been so shocked to hear the voice of her supposedly dead brother that she had allowed him to leave without a fuss...and had snapped out of her stupor around five minutes ago.

"We're coming up on San Angeles now. ETA around thirty seconds. Whatever you're going to do about your battered uniform, now's the time."

Shrugging his shoulders, he removed the Activation Gem from the Turbine and allowed the full force of the wind to strike him. He breathed as evenly as he could and wondered for the hundredth time why he had agreed to wear the earpiece when he was untransformed. Spreading his arms, he began to formulate a good strategy of attack. Doubting that Kira would land the Zord to drop him off, he peered over the side to get a feel for the situation on the ground. So far, it looked like the buildings were untouched. There were no rampaging creatures spilling out the windows or civilian casualties lying on the streets.

An explosion up ahead forcefully reminded him that he was flying head-first into a battle zone. Narrowing his eyes, he saw a plume of fire and smoke rise from a small group of buildings and he wished he had full access to his Ultra Powers. The Wraiths were tough but even they wouldn't be able to stand up to a full powered barrage from his Assault Armour; though if he _really _wanted to get the job done with minimal collateral damage; he would have used the Hellfire Armour. He growled to himself as his fingers gripped the Activation Gem tightly in his hands. By all rights, Gaby was correct at screaming at him to stop and consider his actions. The Rider System had already been revealed to the public and the administration staff at Australasia Worldwide was beginning to answer calls from investigative reporters. On the other hand, he knew why he was doing this.

Jacqui "AJ" Apple.

The reporter that had taken a liking to him when he had been the Orange Ranger and whom he had eventually revealed his identity to; and that friendship had quickly blossomed into true love. He had been forced to break up with her on the eve of the final battle with Xonix and had promised to come for her when he couldn't fight on his own anymore. That had been around six years ago and he had been all around the Universe fighting various monsters and organizations…and recently he had been battling Mesogog in Reefside. He had practically been in her backyard and he hadn't gone to see her as a new monster or evil was just lurking around the corner. If they could resume their relationship with no questions asked…it would be an extreme miracle. On the other hoof, he had seen miracles happen before.

"All right, we're coming up over the battlefield. I'll drop you off somewhere and you can enter the fight. Or, if you want to do something heroically idiotic, you can make an entrance by jumping off the side. Either way, I'll see you on the ground."

The grin on his face fell flat as the sounds of battle reached his ears. Lasers and explosions filled his mind with disturbing images of death and destruction…and the woman he still loved was somewhere below him in the company of unknown Rangers. Inhaling deeply, he quirked the side of his mouth upwards in a semblance of a smile and prepared himself.

It was time to make an entrance.

TBC…


	12. Reunion

Chapter 8: Reunion

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?"

Weihan winced as Gaby's voice screeched through the headset as his helmet formed over his head. He didn't reply as he was busy calculating his trajectory and zeroing what he thought was a good landing zone. Then again, his 'boss' kind of had a point at questioning his actions and his sanity. Leaping off the side of the Pterazord and transforming on the freefall wasn't really a smart idea but, if one ignored the horrible pun, it mirrored his first appearance as the Orange Ranger. On the other hoof, he had already leapt off a building an hour or so ago anyway so it was starting to get slightly old…but Gaby was still screaming that the armour wasn't meant to take so much strain in one hit.

Resisting the upward force of the wind, he tapped the side of his helmet and switched the communication link off. He subvocalised the command to permanently shut off the radio link and sighed to himself as the confirmation flashed up on his HUD. Knowing he had only a few more seconds before making an impact on the ground, he concentrated on linking up the systems of his Rider Suit to the systems – and more importantly: the power grid – of the Ultra Cavern. One second ticked by as he positioned his body in the best landing stance he could think of and inhaled slowly. An instant later, he saw a confirmation message pop up as he slammed into the ground; the impact knocking up a large column of dust, dirt and concrete.

Standing up in the middle of the dust could, he tested his range of motion once more before looking down…at the shattering body of what he guessed was one of the mirror grunts Mack had mentioned. Compared to the Golems, Fiends and Z Centaurs he had battled in the past, it wasn't much to look at. As far as he could tell, it was humanoid in posture and had strange metallic protrusions coming out of the shoulders. Mirrors were all over its body and over its head was a strange half helmet that obscured its eyes…but left its fanged mouth open to see. Within seconds, it crumbled to dust and he crouched to the ground instinctively. The passage of air above his head informed his of his correct decision and he leapt into the air as three mirrored beings came out of the dust on all sides. Funneling fire into his fists, he thrust his arms out – catching two of the nearest grunts in the chest and flinging them away from him. Barely registering the tinkle on the ground as they shattered, he leapt into the air again and brought his right heel down on the remaining humanoid's head.

Racing out of the dust cloud, he shoulder-charged a trio of mirrored humanoids and noted that there were lasers flying overhead. Rolling under a clumsy blow from one of the grunts, he slammed a fire-covered fist into its abdomen and quickly spin-kicked the other two away. Taking a short moment to breathe, he looked down at his gloves and boots and, to his amazement, saw that there were small protrusions coming out of them…almost like claws of some kind. Quickly dubbing them "Raptor Claws", Weihan leapt over the heads of a large group of grunts and landed in front of the attacking Wraith.

"God…and I thought the Z Centaurs were ugly."

The monster fit the description Mack had given it to a T. Its body was that of a Centaur and it had mirrors all over its body. In one hand, it held a small crossbow and the Rider could easily see the rapidly-healing wound where it had been formed from. Around it were…well, it seemed like they were people, except people didn't move that damn fast. At his puzzlement, the creature in front of him chuckled lowly and pointed at one of the faster-moving women with a finger. A thin orange beam shot out of the tip and engulfed the woman; causing her to scream out in unimaginable pain as she continued to speed up. Within seconds, she was nothing more than a blur of movement and soon…

The woman exploded, showering the area around her with blood, bone and strange red and grey ooze. He blinked in shock and inhaled sharply as the flames around him increased in intensity. Bringing the palms of his hands together, he concentrated hard as the already-damaged leather gloves began to smoke and burn even faster than before. Drawing his hands back, he pulled apart his palms to allow the explosive energy to coalesce into a large sphere of power.

"Eat This!"

Thrusting his hands out, the sphere of flame and power rocketed toward the Centaur monster and exploded against its mirrored hide, engulfing it and the rapidly darting figures around it in a ball of fire. Turning away from the scene of blazing carnage, he tried to block his ears from the terrible screams of pain that came from the affected humans and attempted to convince himself that there was nothing that could be done for the humans. Whatever the beam was; it didn't seem to have any visible means of reversal and destroying the monster wasn't a guarantee that the spell or whatever it was would be lifted. These Wraiths worked on an entirely different level than Xonix and he would have to study their movements and strategies to effectively battle them.

"Watch Out!"

Starting at the shout, he turned back to the chaos behind him…just in time to be struck in the chest by two powerful hooves. The impact knocked the breath out of his lungs and flung him over the heads of the mirrored grunts to smash the wall over the Rangers' barricade. Collapsing to the ground in front of a Black Ranger, he balled his fists as he attempted to get to his feet.

"Take it slow. You experienced a pretty bad hit."

Focusing on the British accented voice, he looked up into the visor of the Black Overdrive Ranger and rolled his eyes. He could feel the Rider System giving way to his Ultra Powers as the pain in his chest was lessening markedly. Lifting a hand up to his chest, he winced internally as he felt the depressions that signaled the place where the hooves had struck his armour. He would seriously have to thank whoever had strengthened the armour as it had literally saved him from becoming a Ranger…Rider skewer. Nodding once, he allowed the Black Ranger to help him up and looked through the gaps in the barricade.

The Centaur monster was still out there but looked worse for wear. Large patches of its armour had melted off and its mouth was now fixed in a permanent sneer. Its crossbow had fused to its right hand and its left hand was nothing more than a useless clump of melted flesh. He let out a relieved sigh as he realized the monster wouldn't be able to use its beam weapon on any more hapless civilians. Turning away from the gaps, he looked around him and spied a familiar face. She looked pretty much the same as she had looked last, her blonde hair was tied up in a ponytail and her sparkling green eyes shone like lighthouses as they moved up and down his new armour. She stepped forward and the crowd of retired and current Rangers parted to let her through.

As she came up close to him, he held his breath uncertainly. He had avoided contacting her for the past six years as there had been other threats that had popped up. Almost unconsciously, she lifted up her right arm and placed her hand on the slowly repairing depressions. Running her hand down his breastplate, he shivered in remembrance at the very familiar gesture and quickly clasped both hands around hers. Her eyes widened as his fingers locked with hers and she opened her mouth to let the voice he had yearned to hear again wash over him.

"Sugarcube, what have ya gotten yourself into now?"

He felt tears pooling in his eyes as he saw the same in hers and he drew her close to his body as they were reunited at last. She cried tears of happiness as he gently rocked her in a familiar motion and the Rangers who knew him erupted into soft cheers and applause. Whatever would happen in the future didn't matter to him.

He was with his love once more.

TBC…


	13. Ranger Plan

AN: Let's just say the creative juices keep flowing.

Chapter 9: Ranger Plan

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

Weihan closed his eyes and sighed in frustration as his muscles tensed up again. Somehow, Gaby had been able to hack into the encryption he had placed on the System and override the block he had placed on the communications frequency. That didn't bother him so much as it had obviously taken her a while to hack his changes to the System. He grumbled under his breath as AJ snuggled into his embrace and softly giggled as she heard the trouble he was supposedly in. He opened his mouth to reply when she screamed at him again.

"You're supposed to fight the Wraith, not shack up with some blonde woman! You are dangerously close to having the system removed for your insubordination! What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Shut up and be quiet. I'll take care of the problem now. Over and out."

Muting the communication channel, he reluctantly separated from AJ with a sad sigh. He would have loved to stay in her embrace forever…but there was a mirrored Centaur outside that was slowly increasing in strength. Reaching down, he pulled his Turbine from his belt to let his armour dissolve into sparks. Not caring about the Rangers around him, he slid his arms around AJ and drew her in for a passionate kiss, smiling inwardly as she reciprocated with the same amount of passion. As they parted, he smiled as he recognized the slightly glazed and animalistic look in her eyes that was usually the precursor to a wild session…but that was something that had to wait.

"AJ, can you please introduce me to the new guys? There's going to be plenty of time for _that_ later."

His slightly suggestive tone made her blush at the implications but she complied. Reaching up, he pulled the radio headset from his ear and stuffed it deep into his pocket; hoping that it would not pick up on the voices. The last thing he needed was for Gaby and his colleagues to find out that he had been…or was…the Orange Ranger. Actually, if he was completely honest with himself, he was kind of confused about his Ranger status as well. Ninjor had stated that he would have to do some experimentation to see what he could do or morph into but that would have to wait until later. Nodding at Wes and Eric as they passed, he extended his hand to an older man that looked slightly awed by his appearance. When he spoke, Weihan had to suppress the stab of jealousy that came.

"My name is Andrew Hartford. I'm a friend of Jacqui's and she's helped me immensely during my research into the Corona Aurora and the Ranger Powers. These are the Overdrive Power Rangers. You've already spoken to my son, Mack. The Black Ranger is Will Aston, Blue is Dax Lo, Pink is Rose Ortiz, Yellow is Ronny Robinson and Mercury is Tyzonne. Our support team consists of Vella: Tyzonne's fiancé, Spencer: the family butler and the Sentinel Knight."

Nodding once at their faces, he sucked on his front teeth and a plan started to form in his mind. Looking at the Mercury Ranger, he ruled him out of the plan as the humanoid was clearly struggling to retain a coherent form. As the Centaur Wraith bellowed behind him, he calculated all the variables in his head as AJ leant into his chest once more. He had missed having her near him immensely but knew that she was safer away from the chaos. He wondered if he could call upon his Battlizer but shook his head as he realized that the Power Surge would probably blow out the Rider System completely and raise very uncomfortable questions. Pulling out a scrap piece of paper, he sketched out a rough plan of the battlefield with landmarks such as the final barricade, the position of the Wraith and the available avenues of attack.

Putting his arm around AJ once again, he drank in her scent as he picked who would accompany him. Wes and Eric would be best suited to the defense of the barricade as they could pull out their powered armour within seconds. Danny and Max would be in the barricade as well to cover any gaps as well as cover them in case they needed to retreat from their position. Kira would cover them with aerial support and – if needed – she would land the finishing blow. If he ringed the Overdrive Rangers around him, they would presumably keep those mirrored grunts off his back for a good few minutes…which would be enough for him to keep the Wraith busy until the finisher could be initiated.

"What's on your mind?"

Looking down at AJ, he smiled as she gave him a peck on the cheek before drawing back and allowing him to do whatever it was that he had to do. From her viewpoint, it seemed that they years between them had melted away and they were picking up their relationship from where they left off. Of course, she knew that there would probably be a long discussion in the future about what had happened during the six years and it would bring up a few painful topics such as lovers but she knew he didn't expect her to stay faithful to him during that time. He had practically said so himself. At his apologetic look, she ran a hand down his back in support and retreated to sit near the figures Weihan hadn't noticed.

"I should have told you that he helped us out. Didn't know how you'd react."

She shook her head and watched Weihan as he explained his plan to the Rangers. She knew in a way, he hadn't stopped fighting since Xonix's destruction and the thought saddened her greatly. As the publicist for the Overdrive Rangers, she had to field all the calls from the various military agencies that wanted the Rangers to fight the War on Terror. As far as they knew, the War would be over once the Rangers used their Megazords to kill Osama bin Laden and end his reign of terror permanently. However, she knew better as the War would never really end for the US. Maybe if the terrorist mastermind was in London, he would be swallowed up by the strange anomalies that had appeared and that would be the end of that.

"All right. On me, in three."

Pausing to roll his eyes at the terrible rhyme, he summoned the Turbine to his hand in a flash of light. Holding it above his navel, he felt the belt snap around his waist and tighten. Summoning the Activation Gem to his right hand, he lifted it up diagonally across his chest, balled his left hand in a loose fist and set it on his left hip. Allowing the power from the Activation Gem to mix with the slight amount of Ultra Power running through his body, he smiled as it glowed once. Inhaling deeply, he heard the shuffling of clothing behind him as the Overdrive Rangers pulled out their morphers. His eyes searched for AJ and he found her sitting near two figures that were shrouded in shadows. Blinking in surprise as he recognized their postures, he chuckled and shook his head as the final piece of his plan slid into place.

"Overdrive…Accelerate!"

"Henshin!"

Dropping his right arm, he slid the Activation Gem into the Turbine and allowed the Rider Armour to materialize around his body in a flash. As the helmet formed with a click, he unmuted the communications system and hoped that his secret was still secure. A message flashed up on his visor and he chuckled to himself.

[Gaby kicked the Communication Deck. It broke. We can't hear anything but you can communicate by subvocalising. Fingers crossed that it will translate into something readable]

He heard the Ranger Armour sliding into place over the Overdrive Rangers behind him and nodded to AJ and the figures behind her. Checking the chronometer in his helmet HUD, he plotted it against the timeline of strengthening that the Taurus Wraith had told him about. By his calculations, it had been around an hour or so until Mack had called and the reunion and prep time had taken around fifteen minutes. That meant he had anywhere from forty five minutes to a little over an hour to take the Centaur Wraith down until it grew to its full power. Cracking his knuckles, he smiled as the familiar feeling of anticipation crept over him.

It was time to get to work.

TBC…


	14. System Short

Chapter 10: System Short

**Location: Australasia Worldwide Rider Command Control**

"What exactly is going on over there?"

The mood in Command Control was tense as the technicians tried in vain to repair the damage that had been inflicted to the systems via Gaby's kick. The Director had stormed off in a fit of anger after the blow and hadn't been seen since but Bin, Serena and Canan were hovering around the monitors that were recording everything that was seen by the cameras in the helmet. Right now, it seemed nothing much was happening except for a quick look around the battered refuge that the Power Rangers had set themselves up in and a strangely familiar face in the shadows. Moving the image of the face to one of the nearby terminals, Serena cross-referenced it with the information on the Australasia Worldwide network. Seconds later, a match was found and she announced it to the room.

"Woman's identity is a Jacqui Apple. Former reporter with Channel Seven, she was among the first reporters to document the appearance of the Galaxy Rangers on Terra Venture and returned with the Ultra Rangers when they helped with a disturbance. Quit being a reporter just before Xonix's destruction but resurfaced last year as the publicist to the Operation Overdrive Rangers. A few tabloids in late 98 reported her as being the secret lover of the Orange Ranger."

That made her pause. If this Jacqui woman had been the secret lover of the Orange Ranger, why hadn't she stuck around to witness Xonix's destruction? She was sure that whoever the Orange Ranger was could have easily protected her so it wasn't an issue of safety. Perhaps it had been her decision to leave him to do his duty without having to worry about her in the line of fire. Shrugging to herself, she made a mental note to see what other information she could dig up since asking her wasn't really an option she was comfortable with.

"We can hear but we can't transmit vocally. Bin, inform Wei of the change."

The Chinese man nodded once and started typing in to the bearer of the Rider System. A split second after the 'send' button was pressed; she could hear Weihan swear under his breath. She wondered if their ability to hear everything had hampered what little plan he had thought up. He would probably defer every decision to the Power Rangers anyway and since the Overdrive Rangers were public-identity Rangers; knowledge of their names wasn't going to be an issue. A sharp crackle of static followed by a fizzing sound made her heart sink as she realized the earpiece that Weihan wore under his helmet had been either damaged or destroyed. Taking over from Bin, she asked the Rider if any damage had been done to the earpiece of the helmet.

"Nope, not that I can see. Internal earpiece took a battering though and may fail at any moment. Wait, the only backup you have is in the helmet?"

Rolling her eyes, she typed out the affirmative answer and narrowed them as he let out what appeared to be a sigh of relief. He muttered something that the internal mic couldn't catch and chuckled to himself as if some minor point slid into place. Shaking her head, she looked around at the various technicians at their stations and wondered how Weihan could have fixed the long-range scanners in such a short amount of time without any visible tools. There seemed to be hidden depths in their newest employee but whatever they were would have to wait as the Rider began his plan.

**Location: San Angeles, CA**

"Go time."

Those two words was all the confirmation needed for Operation Mirror Break to begin. The admittedly absurd name hadn't been his idea; rather it had been Mack's and everyone else seemed to go along with it. Crouching down slightly, he launched himself up over the top of the barricade and landed in the middle of a group of the mirrored grunts. Funneling fire into the palms of his hands, he blasted out a stream of fire at the grunts. He was very careful not to look down at his hands and to look away from the flames so the people at Australasia Worldwide didn't get any more suspicious about the mysterious origin of the flames. On his left and right, he could see the morphed forms of Mack, Will, Dan and Ronny as they leapt out to attempt to clear a path for him. Holding out his left hand, he could feel his Raptor Sabre waiting to be summoned but he wouldn't pull out all his cards just yet. He would work with what he had been given, even if it killed him…

"Rider Bla – what the…"

…or if the enemy died laughing. Instead of the butter knife from Hell that he had been expecting, the weapon in his hand looked like a strangely bladed golf club. Staring at the weapon that wasn't for a few more seconds, he shrugged and let out a sigh of exasperation. Searching his mind for a good name for the twisted lump of metal in his hands, he called it by the first thing that popped up.

"Rider Club!"

Suppressing the urge to yell out 'Fore!' was slightly harder than it seemed to be but he decided to keep a lid on excess shouting for now. Twirling the slightly unbalanced Rider Club, he swung it in a wide arc and smashed it against the heads of the grunts. Incredibly, they fell to the ground and didn't get back up. Tossing the Rider Club to one side, he reached up and undid the latches on the sides of his helmet.

[What are you doing? Do not expose your identity to the Rangers!]

"They already know who I am so it's a moot point. This is my plan."

Pulling the helmet off his head, he looked at the Centaur Wraith in front of him and tossed his helmet at the monster. The surprised Wraith caught the helmet and stared at it nervously as if it was a bomb. Weihan inhaled deeply and removed the Activation Gem from the Turbine and felt both object vanish back to their 'home base'. The helmet in the Wraith's hands didn't vanish and his mouth quirked up in a small half-smile. Unhooking the melted earpiece from his ear, the Rider dropped it on the ground and closed his eyes. Even if it was only for one battle…even if his secret was found out…even if he was forced to give up the Rider System and was fired from his job…

The Utahraptor would be free.

TBC…


	15. Kamen Ranger

AN: Do not adjust your set! New chapter after months of inactivity! Enjoy!

Chapter 11: Kamen Ranger

It was a grand re-awakening.

Weihan stepped slowly towards the Centaur Wraith and readied himself for anything. Lifting up his left hand, his fingers grasped the seemingly empty air in front of his chest and concentrated on the subspace pocket he knew was there. Even though all twelve Ultra Crystals had shattered during the final battle with Xonix, they had reformed stronger than before and had allowed him to call upon the mighty Battlizer. A Zord had been sent to him via Ninjor but had been sitting in storage since it had been sent. If he was forced to call upon that in battle, the monster would probably die laughing upon seeing all the dust and dirt that had probably accumulated on it. As the lightning-bolt shaped crystal emerged from its pocket, he felt the warm rush of Power fill his body. Maybe it was his imagination, but he could see a spark of recognition in the eyes of the Wraith; almost as if the memory of the last moments of the Wolf Wraith had been spread throughout the other surviving members. He doubted that was the case…but it was always a possibility.

As the last vestiges of the Rider System were suppressed, he brought the Ultra Crystal down and stared into its depths. If he concentrated hard enough, he could almost see into Equestria. Lord Zedd had been destroyed by the Harmony Ultrazord but Discord had connected with the Dark Ultra Crystal and had unleashed a reign of terror that the Rangers were still beating back. They hadn't really asked him for assistance except on tactical matters and those were few and far between. Well, now that he was 'back' in the game, he could be more assistance in the future. Well, he would have to see if his magical doubles could transform with the Turbine but that was a moot point. As the energy crackled in the air, all battle stopped around him and he could feel AJ's eyes boring into his back. He had absolutely no idea why both Tommy and Kim were waiting in the wings, but that little fact didn't matter to his plan anyway. He inhaled slowly and deeply, savoring every moment of the build-up, before unleashing everything in an orange blaze.

"Ultra Crystal, Energise!"

The Power exploded out of the Ultra Crystal, engulfing him in the middle of an energy tornado. He could sense the Rider System attempting to counter-act the power of the Ultra Grid and prayed that a total Power Fusion didn't happen. On the other hoof, there would be more tactical options available to him as it would just be the powers melding and not the other technical bits. Plus, if anyone really _did_ want to contact him in this state, they would have to be in the Ultra Cavern and it would be a cold day in Hell before he allowed any 'outsiders' in that sacred space. As his bodysuit materialised on him, he could hear the soft screeching of Gaby coming on over the radio system in the Rider helmet. Straining his ears to pick up the words, he swallowed hard as he realised that the Powers were starting to meld.

"What's happening? There's a massive surge of power and the Main Power Transformer shorted out! Systems are failing and the Power Limiter exploded! You're not trained to handle such extremes! Get away from the Wraith and wait for the Rider Analysis Team to check on you! They're coming in a private jet sent by some billionaire in San Angeles! ETA is five minutes!"

Rider Analysis Team…that meant the acronym for that was RAT. Suppressing a chuckle as the helmet formed over his head, he crossed his arms over his chest as the representations of his Main Three Power Animals slid into his body. And an ETA of five minutes was too long to sit around twiddling his thumbs when there was a monster on the loose. The Rangers would be quickly overwhelmed even thought the monster couldn't use its freaky time beam and they would be back to square one within moments. As long as he had power flowing through his body, he would not allow anything to come between him and the destruction of the Wraiths. However, as this was practically his first fully powered morph in a very long while, the Battle Armour wouldn't really cut it.

"Assault Armour…Activate!"

His knees slightly bent as the heavy armour brimming with blasters materialised on his shoulders, belt and upper arms. Taking a moment to steady himself, he willed the energy tornado away and began charging up everything and anything he could…but there was nothing to say he couldn't have fun in the process. Running towards the confused Horse Wraith, he leapt over its head and activated the blade sheaths on his lower arms, stabbing downward to destroy the Rider Helmet and carve a wound into its head in one strike. Eyes flicking over the various menus, he selected an option and waited for the 'hack' to take effect. He wondered about what the Australasia Worldwide staff were thinking about and if his sudden – and unseen – morph into the Orange Ranger had freaked them out. Hell, if the only person he managed to freak out was Gaby it would be a net gain for him.

"The Orange Ranger is back!"

"Where's Weihan? What happened to him?"

He snickered to himself as he heard the mix of awed voices and mass panic. On the radar, he could see a rapidly approaching object coming toward the battlefield. Dodging a slash from the fused crossbow, he nodded to himself and prepared to unleash the fury of six years without a fully-powered morph. Morphing into the Ranger Armour from now on would be a rare occasion as the Wraiths could be easily destroyed by the Rider System without bringing too much undue attention and suspicion on him. If a battle became too one-sided and he didn't have any other options available to him, he would use his Ranger Powers…but he would try to work around that scenario using what he had available. Checking the area around him, he smirked as he saw the last of the mirrored grunts fall to the weapons of the Overdrive Rangers. It was time to bring the battle to an end.

"Hellfire Storm!"

TBC…


End file.
